Amber Waves of Grain

I put both kids in their Easter outfits today in hopes of getting their picture. It wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty. I'm not really satisfied with any of them but it's better than nothing, right!? Maybe I'll try again on Easter day. Here are the best of the worst . Here's Keegan in his Gap outfit I " won " on ebay. Don't you love how we say "won" instead of "bought"? I like to feel like a winner. I should mention that Keegan squints in any and all outdoor settings. He is always complaining that outside is too bright as if he's been locked in the attic all winter. I promise he wasn't. Or, was he? You'll never know. Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Kennedy is at that age where she won't sit still so you have to try for 'action shots'. No spectacular pics, but look how cute her dress is. It's really about the dress, right? I like this one: Frozen expression, but look at her dress... ...

A lot of people have been asking me for updates on Keegan's food issues. If that's you, then here's our update! We are BLESSED to be working with THE best food therapist/specialist possible. She is a speech therapist by degree but pretty much works all day, every day with kids who have feeding issues. Her own daughter is the female version of Keegan so she not only is educated on our issues but she has also been in my shoes. We are so thankful to be working with this woman. She's literally in the ditch with us and is willing to see us through. So, how's the 'therapy' going? Well, there's been a 5 pound weight gain! !! Oh, wait... it was ME who gained the 5 lbs, not Keegan . You know, I'm just trying to set a good example for him!! (*sigh*) We have been in "Phase 1" now since January. We feed Keegan meals every 2 hours, so that's 7 times a day. It's very time-consuming. Each meal is the same in size (in other word...

Nathan & I had a real, actual date on Friday night! It was much needed and it's a rare happening, so I was very pleased when he 'asked me out.' Here we are pulling out of our driveway.... to freedom... with NO KIDS in the backseat! We started the night at China King. It's this little place on our side of town where the blinds are always shut, there are never cars in the parking lot, yet they've been open as long as I can remember. It was one of my Pandora Boxes that needed to be opened and Nathan was gracious enough to try it with me. Now, if you know us, you know we like hole-in-the-wall type places as long as they have good grub. China King would fall into this category. Here I am at China King. I've blackened out their phone number in case some of you are crazy stalkers trying to figure out whereabouts I live. I at least want to slow you down, right?! We were the only people dining in on a Friday night at 6pm. The inside is run-down and not at ...

Kennedy turned 15 months yesterday! At her check-up today, she's officially 19lbs, 6oz and 29 1/2" tall. She continues to be a climber and a mover. She's our little circus baby. She has also mastered turning any object into a ladder, whether it's a car ramp or batcave. I've had to remove some of her toy buckets from the living room because she dumps them out to use them as stools. She also loves to move heavy furniture. And, of course she also wears the buckets on her head.... She's a daddy's girl. She loves her daddy and does not want him out of sight. He's been traveling a lot lately too so when he's home she's very possessive of his time. Here she is guarding him... She's still a pretty good eater. She will eat any cheap, processed meat all day, every day... like meatballs, bologna, little smokies, smoked sausage, and hot dogs. She also loves cold peas now. Bologna & peas is a typical favorite meal for her. I know, g...

Nine years ago today I said "I do!" March 24 th , 2001 . Every wedding has some 'funny' memories of things that didn't go quite as planned. Here are a few fun ones that I remember.... 1) I remember the photo shoot well because I was so hungry when we finished. I was the last to be done with photos ( because I was the bride and it was all about me, of course ). I went to the kitchen for lunch and the groomsmen (and a few others... but mostly the men, I'm sure) had eaten everything (um, Chuck , you owe me a sandwich!). :) There was no food at all left for the poor, hungry bride. Note to future brides: hide a snack of your own away from the men. 2) The ceremony began and I walked down the aisle with my dad. The pastor began the service but he forgot to give me away. I stood with my dad for the longest time while the pastor talked about marriage commitment and so forth. That's right, I almost married my dad . I looked up at Nathan who was at the ...

I recently confessed in my Facebook status that I have pizzarackaphobia . That's right, I'm afraid of putting frozen pizzas directly on the oven rack. Now, I'm not one to be a rule-breaker, but I even use a pan when the directions specifically say not to. I'm pretty sure I'll need therapy for this later. I can't help but think of all the 'what ifs'. What if it drips in my oven? What if the pizza melts to the rack and gets stuck? What if a piece of crust falls onto the heating element and catches fire? What if? What if? What if? Oh, the agony of it all! So.... yesterday I decided to take the plunge. It took a lot of guts. I put on my brave face and decided to suck it up, Sally. I grabbed myself a supreme Red Baron frozen pizza. I didn't have the scarf or goggles to wear like Red Baron, but I'm not sure if that would matter: "DIRECTLY ON THE RACK". You bet, Mr. Baron: Here it is on the rack, for proof: I bit my nails in an...

I'm a day late, but HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY! Here are the kids in their green : Here's Keegan in his festive hat from school. "Kiss me! My name is Irish!": We spent the day on a mini-road trip to visit our dear friends who in town after moving to Bangladesh over a year ago. Bless their hearts, they were willing to meet at a McDonald's playland so that my kids could run free. Here's our family with Tim & Andrea: On our way home, we stopped at a tiny farm town where Nathan's mom grew up. We visited a tree at a playground that was donated by Nathan's grandparents years ago in their honor. When I say farm town, I meant it: Here's the tree: The kids loved the playground, although we didn't stay long after being at the McDonald's playland for three hours. Yes, a three hour tour..... a three hour tour... Happy St Patrick's Day!